DEATHSPELL OMEGA — The Long Defeat (review)

DEATHSPELL OMEGA — The Long Defeat album cover

Album · 2022 · Black Metal

4/5 · 2022-03-23
siLLy puPPy

As one of the 21st century’s most innovative black metal bands that raised the bar so high many modern black metal acts are still scrambling to find a way to propel the genre into the next chapter of its existence, DEATHSPELL OMEGA has become synonymous with epic black metal that retains the occult subject matter of the second wave 90s and steers it into the progressive world of pseudo-classical musical scores with long unpredictable compositions. Most famous for the legendary Satanic trilogy that included “Si monvmentvm reqvires, circvmspice,” “ Fas – Ite, maledicti, in ignem aeternum” and “Paracletus,” the last decade since that trilogy’s conclusion has sort of been retreaded the same ideas presented on those albums and although mind-blowing and brilliant, with 2019’s “The Furances of Palingenesia” seemed like DSO may have peaked and become stuck in a rut of its own making.

Well, a band doesn’t become the world’s most famous in a particular musical niche for no reason. These musicians seem to have the knack for reading the tea leaves and taking things in another direction when necessary. That time has come and DSO is back with its ninth official full-length album (although some of the EPs have similar playing times) titled THE LONG DEFEAT which finds these blackened ones emerging from their crypts to bedazzle the black metal fans with uncompromising technical instrumental interplay, epic compositional fortitude and the band’s classic subject matter of Satanic theology dripping in atonal guitar riffing, dramatic dissonance and a musical procession that ranges from slow plodding dirge-like lallygagging to fully fueled metal rampages through the catacombs of legendary underworlds.

THE LONG DEFEAT features three parallel storylines if you even bother to follow that aspect of the album’s nerdy inner workings. The lyrics of course narrate two separate tales with the third finding expression through the artwork but of course you would have to purchase the physical product to indulge in these Easter egg hunts. While available digitally in its simple form, THE LONG DEFEAT has also found a lush black vinyl release with a 6-panel folded booklet and this album is the first emanation of the third era of DEATHSPELL OMEGA thus signifying that the band is in no danger of returning to the underworld from whence it came any time soon. The album does indeed take on a new demeanor without sacrificing all those now familiar DSO attributes which keeps this band on the top of its game. THE LONG DEFEAT is the perfect debut of the 2020’s.

Graced with five lengthy tracks, THE LONG DEFEAT opens with the lengthiest track “Enantiodromia” which opens with some wickedly blackened Tuvan throat singing techniques and slowly ratchets that good old DSO charm and sprawls on for nearly 12 minutes with the classic jangle guitar riffs, ferocious energetic outbursts of pure rage and a shifting palette of tones, timbres and tempos. Mikko Aspa features more clean vocals on this one than at any time in the past and the music showcases a more pronounced atmospheric backdrop in the vein of modern bands such as Mgła, Wolves In The Throne Room and a gazillion others however DSO takes the black metal experience where few have the cahones to venture and that is what sets these champions apart from the rest.

So what’s new? Well, THE LONG DEFEAT is a lot more melodic than any DSO score of yore. While the dissonant dressing is still in tact, the compositions are more poignantly defined with clear demarcations of melodic chunks that together forge a new stylistic approach for these mysterious dark dwellers however melody has always been an ingredient in the DSO playbook and while this feature has been placed more prominently in the forefront, it isn’t anything new. I guess what sounds different to my ears is that the band is more focuses on certain melodic grooves and play with many variations before moving on instead of metamorphosing into completely new musical terrain as in the past. The closing and shortest track “Our Life Is Your Death” at 7:15 implements some good old fashioned black’n’roll as its groove.

This will probably be a divisive album in the band’s canon as it deviates from the comfort zone that many have grown accustomed to but all in all this is another solid release from the DSO camp even if the shock value and progressive peak of the Satanic trilogy has long since dissipated. While slightly more melodic and dare i say mainstream than its predecessors, THE LONG DEFEAT features more than enough authentically badass DEATHSPELL OMEGA to please those enshrouded Satanic metaphysical diatribe fueled with vituperative caustic black metal angst. All in all this one seems like DSO has come to the realization it has nothing left to prove and now it’s time to try something new. In many ways this album makes me think of what Nergal was trying to achieve on Behemoth’s “I Loved You At Your Darkest” only to much greater effect. Personally i find this to be an excellent album that takes a new direction and although the band’s politics are a form of contention i personally only care about the music and for a new chapter of DEATHSPELL OMEGA, these guys could’ve done a lot worse.